Raspberry gin recipe

Our autumn fruiting raspberries are late, but they’re finally here. Just a few of them. Succulent and tempting and the promise of more to follow. If you grow autumn fruiting raspberries you might like to have a go at making this delicious raspberry gin. The liqueur is delicate yet has a fresh raspberry bite that makes a change from the raunchiness of sloe gin. (This is a fresh review. I nipped out to the barn this evening to try some of our July 2006 vintage and it was superb. Fragrant and tasty). At it’s best, raspberry gin totally overshadows sloe gin. We had a tasting of a wide selection of our fruit gin at a dinner party, a few months ago. The clear winner was the raspberry gin.

You can make raspberry vodka using the same method detailed below for gin with similar ingredients, just a little more sugar. We’ve tried both and think that the gin wins hands down. Both are quite drinkable in three months so would be ready for Christmas. I love a dash of this in a fresh fruit salad.We had to buy the raspberries for our gin this summer but the end result will be well worth the outlay. In July we feasted off our early raspberries. We guzzled large bowls of them, sprinkled with castor sugar and had heated discussions as to how to use the rest of the fruit. Unfortunately, I had not secured the netting tightly enough and when I went out with my trug a couple of days later the canes were bare. Raspberries are my favourite fruit and raspberry gin is the biz. It always puts people in the best of moods. People have said the most complimentary things about us after a glass or three of our raspberry gin.

Tips and tricks for making fruit infused gin/vodka:

If you are using the original gin bottles and you find that you don’t have quite enough gin to fill each one to the neck, don’t worry. We often do the final fill up the next day when we have got more gin.

Make notes on a label of your fruit/gin/sugar ratio and stick it onto the bottle(s) so that you have a record, if you make a particularly good batch. The best labels are made from decorator’s masking tape as these can be peeled off and passed from bottle to bottle. We also note our responses at the grog matures. Yucky after sixth months can be to die for in a year (you will probably not remember without notes). Notes seem boring when you are making the grog. But they are so worthwhile when you start again the next year. It won’t be long before you will get a feel of what works well for your taste (and the notes will come into their own).

Make more than you need the first year. So you can compare different vintages. This liqueur does improve over time.

Some people drain the grog through muslin after a couple of months, to clarify the liqueur and bottle. We don’t bother as one old soak tipped that, once the gin is drunk, you can pour medium sherry on the fruit and start all over again! The latter is devilish and drinkable within three months.

Keep your fruit gin away from the light as this will maintain the colour. Unless the bottle is dark green or brown. If you are stuck with clear bottles, wrap them in brown paper to keep out the light.

Every couple of months take a tiny sip. At this time a add sugar if it tastes too sharp.

If you want to make your own labels check out the post for 26 October 2006 to see how we make our labels.

245 Comments

If using a demijohn what do other people use to cover the top? If I remember rightly I used kitchen roll wrapped tightly in tin foil last time and pushed it into the top – is this the right thing to do from the start?

I’ve used your recipe for a few years now, friends jealously fight for a taste at any time of the year. I also freeze fresh raspberries to use as ice cubes as I love my raspberry gin ice cold…just pop raspberries into an ice cube tray, when frozen store them in a plastic food bag. Am trying blackberry gin & plum gin this year as there is a glut locally, fingers crossed they come out as tasty as the raspberry gin

Only joking of course, but we know of nobody who has tried it. Not sure how the chemistry works, but people have made “bubble gum vodka”, for example. It’s not the height of culinary taste, but after 5 shots, who cares? LOL

My mate and I use alternative sweeteners to make flavoured gins with great success. She uses xylitol (poisonous to dogs so I don’t use it) and I use stevia. Infuse the fruit and then sweeten to taste, sometimes we have to taste it a lot!

Hiya, First year of making Raspberry gin and it’s lovely. If I wanted to use the gin raspberries for making sherry, how much sugar do I add…..just follow the raspberry recipe as before? Many thanks. Claire

Absolutely a winner. I made some from your recipe and put it into fancy jars with a copy of your recipe copied on brown paper – tied with some rafia – one year – another year I put it into some value village bought pinwheel crystal decanters – tied up with silver ribbons – and one it goes, year after year. People love it. I made quite a bit a few years ago and it’s lasted several years. I am depleting my stock so must try again this year when the raspberries are in season – I tried the raspberry vodka and since it’s all now about 5 years old, it tastes quite similar…..Thank you for years of Christmas giving from the heart and hearth!!